CAC registration cannot protect your brand name.

Opatola Victor Esq.
0904 181 5408


Registering your company or business name with CAC does not protect your brand name.

Only Trademark registration does.

I was addressing some young business people and tech founders recently, somebody asked me if registering with CAC will protect his brand name.

I told him that I register both Company and Trademarks, and I know that the purpose of CAC registration is not to protect your brand name. The purpose is mainly create a business entity in law, for the sole purpose of carrying out business transactions. Registration with CAC only ensure that another person cannot register a similar name as a company or business name, which does not protect your brand name or gives you exclusive use to it.

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Only Trademark registration gives you exclusive use of a name or a mark.

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It is true that once you register your company with CAC, another person can not register such name with CAC again.

Nothwistanding, truth is that another business can legally use and be entitled to your name if it trademarks it.

Example.
Mr. Victor registered his company "Switch Limited" with CAC in 2020.

Mr. Opatola registered his company "Choo Nigeria Ltd" in 2021.
Mr. Opatola trademarked the name 'Switch". It started trading one of its product as "Switch".

Mr. Opatola, through Choo Nigeria Ltd, popularised the name "Switch" as a product name.

Mr. Victor, through "Switch Ltd", cannot claim trademark infringment in Law, because he merely registered with CAC.

Neither can he claim the tort of "passing off" because the name 'switch' is not popular nor synonymous with "Switch limited".

As a matter of Law,
section 852(1)(d) of CAMA provides that:

"No company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership,business name or incorporated trustee shall be registered under this Act by aname or trade mark which in the opinion of the Commission, would violate or conflict with anyexisting trademark or business name registered in Nigeria or body corporateformed under this Act unless the consent of the owner of the trade mark,
business name or trustees of the body corporate has been obtained."

This means that CAC should not register a company or business whose name violates an existing trademark.

So the Legal lesson here is to trademark your business name or company name.




Opatola Victor is a Tech-lawyer.